Momof2, USA

Fun way to gain writing dexterity

1. Draw a small freehand shape in the centre of the paper. Outline it with a different color pen with a slight gap. Let the child repeat. The same can be done for alphabets to give a fuzzy look. Using silly sentences makes it more fun.
2. On alphabets, you can make small circles to make it look like beading or make small crosses with different colors. Just go ahead and beautify them.
3. The above make writing practice less dreary!

Jenny, UK

1. Start by fixing a few pegs on the side of the shoe-box.
2. Ask the child to “add 1” or “subtract 1/take-away 1” and then are there more or less? How many now?
3. This is a project that you can do in short spans over days till the concepts are clear to the child

1. Cut-out a circle in one colour. Make a semi-circle of that.
2. Ask the child to reconstruct the circle.
3. Similarly cut out a square and make it into half.
4. Ask the child to reconstruct the square.
5. You can increase the difficulty level by making smaller parts (eg. Quarters), cutting different sizes of circles and squares and in different colours

Yamini, USA

1. Make a cheese sandwhich and place in ziplock bag.
2. Close the bag and put it in the sun.
3. Watch as the bag puffs and the cheese melts.
4. Eat your tasty cheese toast. (don’t eat if bag has melted)
5. Talk to the child about what is happening and how

Cubsmom, USA

1. The child moves the box pretending that its his boat/car etc.
2. Sing some relevant nursery rhyme. When the rhyme finishes, you pretend that a few of the stuffed toys want to hop aboard into his boat/car. The child chooses which toys hop aboard.
3. The child counts them. Put more toys and let the child count and see how many are there now. Learnings

*  When we add we get more, When we add __ to __ toys we get __

1. Same way you can introduce subtraction. Learnings

*  When we subtract, we have less left, When we subtract__ from __ we get __

Momme, USA

1. Select pictures of objects that the child is familiar with from catalogues, newspapers or old magazines. Let the child cut them (2 x 2 inches).
2. Mark the positions for pasting the pictures making sure the paper is not crowded. (eg. 6 to a page). Now the child can paste the pictures.
3. Using construction paper, draw rectangles, 2 cm longer and wider than the cut pictures. These are the curtains that the child can cut.
4. Write an Alphabet on each rectangle.
5. The child now needs to cover the picture with the curtain that has the same beginning sound as the picture. Eg. E curtain covers elephant picture.
6. You can glue the curtain at the top end of the respective picture so the child can do peek-a-boo.
7. Staple all the pages together to make a book that you can read with your child.

Yamini, USA

1. Help set-up the shop with the toys displayed neatly.
2. Cut construction paper into rectangular pieces (6x4inches) and fold from the middle so that the cards can be labels for displaying the cost of each toy.
3. Decide on the cost of each toy.
4. Depending on the level of the child you can decide on the denomination to be used. Eg. Quarters, dimes.
5. Write the price in dollars. On each label draw the corresponding number of coins needed for the price shown.
6. Give enough money for your child to go shopping.

Aliya2, UAE

1. Cover your child’s palm with paint.
2. Let the child press his/her hand down on the sheet of paper making as many clear hand-prints as possible.
3. Let the paint dry-up.
4. Count the fingers in each hand and number them. Point out that each hand has 5 fingers.
5. Introduce the concept of adding  in fives. Eg. 2 hands have 10 fingers, 3 hands have 15 fingers and so on. This can be related to the marks on the clock to help reading time.

Aliya2, UAE

1. Tell your child the denomination of different coins explaining that size is not correlated to value.
2. Ask him/her to sort them based on their denomination.
3. Choose a coin of each type. Place it under the plain paper and rub firmly on the coin through the paper. A pattern will emerge.
4. Cut all the patterns of the different coins.
5. Stick coins with tape on construction paper. Alongside the coin the child can stick the corresponding coins pattern.  

Yamini, USA

1. Make 4 rectangular cards from each sheet of construction paper. Use 2-3 sheets as you deem fit for your child’s level.
2. Draw a grid of 6 rectangles in each card.
3. Make different patterns on each card. Eg. Colour the grids in a certain pattern, use different shapes/numbers/objects in different grids.
4. Hand out one finished card at a time to your child along with a blank card with just a grid drawn.
5. Ask your child to make the same pattern as what you’ve made on the finished card.
6. The child would need to observe carefully the colours, objects, shapes etc. used in each grid and the adjoining grids to make the blank card similar to the one that you’ve made.
7. Do the same for the other finished cards as well.
8. Place all the cards with face down and take turns to make a match.
9.  Have fun doing this challenging but fun activity!

Mom1123, UK

1. Cover the cans/jars with coloured contact paper so they all look the same.
2. Fill 2 sets of cans with similar sound making things eg. 2 can with rice, 2 cans with beans etc.
3. Tape the lids on securely.
4. Now play one can and encourage the child to find the other can that makes a similar sound.

Rosemary, USA

1. Make a patterned sequence of shapes/numbers/alphabets on a sheet of paper.
2. Somewhere along make a mistake in the pattern and move along.
3. The child needs to identify the pattern, find the mistake and correct it.
4. Alternate between easy and trickier ones depending upon the level of the child.

Becky, USA

1. Cut the paper into rectangular cards (6x4inches)
2. Each day, ask the child what should be the days label.
3. Write it and tape it on the object.
4. eg. BED, SHELF, DOOR, WALL etc.
5. Over time kids shall start making connections between objects that have similar starting sounds, learn sight words etc.

Rosemary, USA

1. Make a more complicated patterned sequence. Maybe a row/multiple rows  in the grid make a pattern with other rows. You can use shapes or alphabets as well.
2. Activity books are a good source for kids. You can write a word repeatedly in a grid from left to right and then identify patterns. Eg.

Becky, USA

1. Make a road on a sheet of paper.
2. Make a few sections on it for writing words. (Approx. 10-15)
3. Write simple words on it (depending upon the child's stage).
4. This is the word road that the child needs to travel.
5. The child needs to read each word and then move on to the next. When the child gets stuck on a word, help read it reinforcing it a few times. Now the child needs to start from the beginning again.
6. A paper clip can be used to mark the progress.
7. The child gets a given number of chances to complete his journey down the word road. If he’s able to do so, he wins.
8. The roads can be progressively made with more complicated words.
9. Eg. (a straight road with 6 sections)

Momof2, USA

1. Make some silly not too long sentences. eg. “Peanuts zoozaa in shoes.”
2. Let the child repeat it a couple of times and during the day, ask the child to repeat the sentence of the day.
3. You can move from easy to longer and more difficult sentences.

Momof2, USA

1. Cover the shoe-box with a coloured plain paper of the child’s choice using glue.
2. Decorate it with alphabets.
3. Every day, ask the child to think of a word he’s like to be able to read.
4. Write it, go over it repeatedly with the child pronouncing the alphabets to form the word.
5. Next day, add another word to the word box doing the same. In addition, take out the earlier words and go over them, highlighting the differences between the word of the day and the other ones.
6. Slowly, the child will start recognizing words.
7. For kids who’re at a very formative stage of reading, it’s a good exercise in practicing phonics, beginning and ending sounds, familiarization with alphabets.

Yamini, USA

1. Let the kids plan out the party –  who is invited, when, what time, what snacks, what drinks etc.
2. Does any baking need to be done. Gather the ingredients, measure them and bake them. Set the table – cover with tablecover, arrange the plates and glasses/cups
3. Once the party invites are out and the guests arrive, its pretend time. The host serves the guests. Maybe everyone takes turns. Maybe teddy likes the cookies and bunny prefers the goldfish. Can I have some chocolate milk please?
4. Have a wonderful tea party! Do guests help tidy-up after tea?

Yamini, USA

1. Let the kids plan out the birthday –  whose birthday, who is invited, when, what time, what games, what snacks, what drinks, whats the cake like etc.
2. Maybe children could put toys in boxes as gifts and wrap them up. Would balloons be a nice decoration? Once the party invites are out and the guests arrive, its pretend time. How u greet the guests, thanks for the gifts, tasting the cake, opening the gifts and the works.
3. Have a wonderful birthday!

Yamini, USA

1. This can be played in many different ways. Make roads using chalk on tiles or with contact paper.
2. Design your own intricate road network depending on your vehicles. Eg. Construction site nearby if u have bulldozers/dump trucks, racing track / in-city driving.
3. Put up stop signs, turn signs and traffic signals. Issue tickets, have collisions, move on the side when sirens of emergency vehicles are heard.

Yamini, USA

1. Set-up the classroom. Who sits where – in rows/semi-circle.
2. Who is the teacher. Maybe kids take turns, what questions does the teacher ask, who knows the answer, do kids get stickers or everyone claps for them?
3. Is there circle time/storytime/snacktime. Who is which helper?
4. Is everyone happy when school finishes and how do the children go home?

Pretty Rocks

1. Paint rocks from your rock collection in your favourite colours. Paint shapes, pictures or make faces.
2. Decorate by gluing pipe cleaners, yarn, google eyes  etc for legs/hair etc.
3. Would you like to do creative play as a stone-family?

Dripping colours

 Sonia, India

1. Pour 5 tbs water in each muffin cup. Add food colouring.
2. Fold paper towel into eigths/sixteenths.
3. Dip corners into different colours.
4. Open towel and allow to dry.

Weaving patterns

 Anvi, USA

1. Take one sheet, fold into half. Cut thin strips from folded side to border stopping 2 inches from the edge.
2. Take other sheets of paper and cut thin strips right through.
3. Weave the thin strips into the larger sheet of paper going over one slit then under the next and so on.

Momof2, USA

1. Explain water bodies and land masses.
2. Ask them to spot / colour water bodies (oceans) and land masses.
3. You could play a quiz game of "where will you find a shark, an elephant, an octopus etc."

Trish, USA

1. Draw a line (zig-zag, square, rectangle etc) on the paper using the scale.
2. Ask the child to see how many of the beans/cheetos can be fitted onto the line. You could even glue them on to make it more fun.
3. Now point out that though its the same line, it is X beans long and Y cheetos long.
4. So how can we know which line is longer if people used different things to measure it? Introduce standard measurement units like inches and cms.

Trish, USA

1. Select an activity.
2. Colour the pictures/drawings.
3. Cut-them into separate pieces.
4. Stick-them in order.

Yamini, USA

1. Select a word family. eg. -at, -en, --er etc.
2. Cut a hand-sized shape from the construction paper like a circle, square or face etc.
3. Towards the centre of the shape, make 3" slits 3" apart vertically.
4. Write the ending of the word family centered between the slits but to the right of where the slits end.
5. Cut a long strip 2''wide of a different colour. Write beginning alphabets of words that belong to the selected word families. Make sure, they are written atleast 4" apart.
6. Weave this strip of coloured paper into the centre shape by bringing it upwards from the top slit and taking it downwards from the lower slit.
7. Now you can see the beginning letters before the ending letters of the word family.
8. Slide the word slide to read different words.
9. Innovate with word slides depending upon your child's level.

Yamini, USA

1. Select objects (words) for which you need to learn spellings. eg. colours, clothes, food etc.
2. Make a survey form for the child to fill with two columns - name of person and object.
3.  Write the words at the top (maybe the child could draw its picture) for reference. 
4. At the bottom of the page, make a grid with names on the Horizontal axis and Objects as the Y-axis
5. The child needs to ask friends/family which of the objects is their favorite and write that beside their name.
6. Having finished the survey they can share their findings by making a graph.

Yamini, USA

1. Make 2 stacks of cards.
2. For the first stack, make dots on the cards. And for the other stack write numbers on the cards.
3. Draw a card from the Dot stack and one from the number stack. If its a match, you keep the pair.
4. The person to make the maximum pairs wins.

Tan, Cambodia

1. Identify some objects for measuring.
2. Write their names in a column. On the top row, write length, breadth and weight.
3. Let the children measure the above for each of the toys and make comparsions.

Tan, Cambodia

1. Identify some activities for measuring - brushing, eating food, watching a favourite TV program, combing hair etc.
2. Use a stop watch to see how long it takes to do these.
3. Compare. You can also discuss, long and short events like combing hair, going to school, sleeping at night etc.